Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) VP Victoria Brifo Sells 2,362 Shares

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) VP Victoria Brifo sold 2,362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.82, for a total value of $745,966.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,172,411.90. The trade was a 19.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $4.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $310.02. 1,358,532 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,748,837. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.10 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $308.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $304.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $68.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is 41.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,772 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,207,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 5,352 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,593,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 5,713 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,701,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on APD. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $330.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $339.94.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals.